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Namibia
Spectrum Geo Inc., in partnership with CGGVeritas and National Petroleum Corp. of Namibia, is shooting a 2D multiclient seismic survey in the deepwater Orange basin off Namibia. Some 7,000 km of long offset data covering both held and open blocks will be processed through full prestack time migration. Final deliverables are expected in June.
Norway
Results from the 16/5-2S appraisal well will most likely reduce the current resource estimate for the southern part of the Avaldsnes discovery in the North Sea off Norway, said Lundin Petroleum AB, Stockholm.
Well 16/5-2S, 8.5 km south of the Avaldsnes 16/2-6 discovery well and 4 km south of the 16/2-7 appraisal well, encountered a 15-m Jurassic sequence of which the upper 8 m has excellent reservoir quality. Top reservoir was found deeper than expected and below the oil-water contact. Good hydrocarbon shows were observed below the oil-water contact but were currently evaluated as not producible.
Well 16/5-2S is the first of an Avaldsnes appraisal program of at least four wells in PL501 during 2012. This appraisal campaign will address key development planning uncertainties to ensure an efficient and optimal field development process.
Geophysical studies and possible appraisal drilling will be required to determine whether the deeper than prognoses top reservoir depth at this location is not a local effect.
The 16/5-2S well went to 2,042 m measured depth in 111 m of water. The next appraisal well is 16/2-11, after which a revised resource estimate will be released.
Lundin Norway AS is the operator of PL501 with 40% interest. Partners are Statoil Petroleum AS with 40% and Maersk Oil Norway with 20%.
Papua New Guinea
InterOil Corp., Houston, has spudded the Triceratops-2 appraisal well in PPL 237 in Papua New Guinea. The well, 2.1 miles west of the 1959 Bwata-1 gas-condensate discovery well and 2.9 miles southwest of Triceratops-1, is projected to 7,579 ft. It is predicted to penetrate the top of the carbonate reservoir 1,500 ft higher than the Bwata-1 gas-water contact. Bwata-1 tested as much as 28 MMcfd of gas and defined a 512-ft gas column, InterOil said.
More than 128 line-km of InterOil seismic has defined a larger structural closure than previously recognized. InterOil observed seismic facies character and geometries analogous to the Antelope reefal build-up.
Somalia
Horn Petroleum Corp. has spudded the Shabeel-1 wildcat on the Dharoor block in Puntland, northern Somalia, toward a planned total depth of 3,800 m, said Africa Oil Corp., Vancouver, BC, which owns a 51% equity interest in Horn Petroleum.
Operations have also started on the Shabeel North-1 well with the setting of the 30-in. surface casing and the drilling of a 50-m pilot hole. The Sakson 501 rig will be used to drill both wells, and drilling and evaluation time is put at 90 days each.
The wells satisfy the first exploration period minimum work obligations of the production sharing contracts for both the Dharoor and Nugaal blocks. They are the first exploratory wells to be drilled in over 20 years in Somalia.
The Shabeel and Shabeel North prospects are on a Jurassic aged rift system that is part of the same system that has proven to be highly productive of oil in Yemen’s Masila and Shabwa basins. The reservoirs in Somalia are expected to be sandstones and carbonates of the Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic systems analogous to Yemen.
Alberta
FairWest Energy Corp., Calgary, has spudded its first horizontal well targeting light oil in the Mannville formation at Berry Creek, Alta., 115 miles east-northeast of Calgary.
If successful, the well could be followed by others as the firm embarks on an aggressive development program in the light oil resource play. FairWest is operator with a 75% working interest.
FairWest assets at Berry Creek include working interests in 10,400 gross acres of land, 11 producing oil wells, 14 producing liquids-rich gas wells, more than 50 km of gas gathering lines, and a company-operated gas processing and refrigeration facility.
The firm added to its Berry Creek holdings last year with acquisition of working interests in 1,440 gross acres of land, four oil wells, one gas well, associated wellsite facilities and gas pipelines. It just completed a $600,000 3D seismic program at Berry Creek.
Alaska
Buccaneer Energy Ltd., Sydney, started gas production from its Kenai Loop-1 well onshore Alaska’s Cook Inlet on Jan. 14. The firm will sell gas into Enstar’s winter daily auction, a system by which gas producers are advised of Enstar’s requirements for the next 24 hr and bid the price and volume to sell gas. Enstar’s winter demand requirement is based mainly on weather and can fluctuate daily. Buccaneer also has the ability to sell gas to ConocoPhillips under its sales deal with the local LNG facility if Enstar does not buy the well’s full daily production.
Buccaneer anticipates producing the well at 5 MMcfd for 2-3 months while monitoring reservoir performance. More Kenai Loop drilling is likely to begin in second quarter before the start of the firm’s Cook Inlet program.
